Digital Brain Instruments has released vPlayer, a freeware standalone (Max/MSP based) VST/VST3/AU plugin host application for PC and Mac.
vPlayer is a standalone plugin host for users who want to quickly test new plugins (only 32-bit at the moment, unfortunately), or load and play their favorite virtual instrument with minimum fuss. It’s possible to load up to two different virtual instruments and play them with up to two different MIDI controllers at the same time. Both plugin slots come with separate volume MIDI input controls, along with a gain meter and a global EQ module on the output. The built-in parametric equalizer is quite powerful, offering five frequency bands (with ±80 dB of boost/cut range) and a fairly transparent HP/LP filter. vPlayer can also save and load FXP presets. A CPU monitor is available in the setup panel.
See also: Best Free VST Host Applications!The user interface is streamlined and easy to use. Having the ability to load two different virtual instruments and play them from two different MIDI inputs is a great option for quick jams. Sometimes, having to wait for your main DAW to load and then setting up a project from scratch (as your moment of inspiration fades away) just won’t cut it.
Since this is the initial (v1.0) release, it’s understandable that I ran into a few performance/stability issues and minor bugs while testing vPlayer on my new test rig (4th gen i7 CPU running Windows 7 64-bit). The GUI controls, occasionally, had some sort of lag or issues with click detection, making me have to click the same button two or three times before it responded to the input. To avoid any confusion, the lag is only present when clicking the vPlayer controls (it doesn’t affect the loaded plugins). I’ve also noticed a bug that causes the loaded plugin to reset completely when clicking the “View” button in vPlayer. Finally, a “Panic” button would be a useful addition, since I ran into a few issues with hanging MIDI notes.
At the moment, vPlayer can only load 32-bit VST plugins (I haven’t tested the AU compatibility). A 64-bit VST plugin can be loaded, but there’s no sound and the plugin’s user interface can’t be displayed. However, since there’s no error message when loading a 64-bit plugin, I’m assuming that a future version of vPlayer might introduce 64-bit plugin compatibility.
I loved the fact that there’s not installer involved. You can simply extract the downloaded ZIP archive to your hard drive (or a USB flash drive if you like to keep things portable) and fire up the application when needed. You will need to submit a valid email address in order to download your free copy of vPlayer, though.
vPlayer is available for free download via Digital Brain Instruments (79.9 MB download size, ZIP archive, standalone application for Windows & Mac OS).
